Chapter 11: Trying Times
Breakfast had been subdued this morning, but it was expected. The team was supposed to set off on their mission right after this. Even though they went over the plan over and over again last night, it did not seem to soothe the tension in the air. They were, after all, an untested team. And they were about to find out what they were really capable of.
Jen was not surprised when Ky pulled her aside before they set off. The rest of the team was respectful enough to give them their own space, and Ky had looked into her eyes and told her that he loved her, and asked – or pleaded, for her to remember that. It was a little startling, but she supposed Ky wanted to be prepared for anything that might happen during the mission. She had smiled and returned his hug, knowing that he had meant it.
As the team sped out of the hanger bay on their gliders – they could not teleport directly into Metigor's ship anyway – Jen watched behind the glass panel, and wished for a moment that they did not need to go. But of course they did. And now Jen was alone on the ship.
No. She shot a sideway glance at the camera at the corner, at the evidence of VIKI's omnipresence onboard the ship. She would never be alone on this ship.
"VIKI, could you trace their journey? Can I watch it on the Bridge?"
"Certainly, Jen." VIKI replied. "I will project the feed to the main screen on the Bridge if you wish."
"Thank you."
The Bridge was eerily silent when the door slid open. But as promised, a feed of the Rangers' journey was shown on the screen. And it seemed like they would be close enough to sneak onboard Metigor's ship any second now.
Ky had shown her around the ship during one of their talks. And he was very eager to answer all her questions. And so Jen knew exactly what she was looking for when she strode towards a panel by the side.
Before the ship A.I. had the time to ask, Jen switched off her voice, and initiated teleportation lockdown throughout the ship.
"VIKI?" A voice asked.
Jen spun around, and saw the Blue Ranger glancing at the cameras, but her blaster was trained right at her.
Aly turned to her when VIKI did not reply, and said firmly, "Game over, Metigor. Let Jen go."
Aly's heart sank when no reply came from VIKI. The five of them had spread out over the critical locations on the ship that were most vulnerable to sabotage – the engine room, the environmental control room, the hanger bay, and the bridge, with two of the others guarding the engine room. But Aly did not count on Jen acting so swiftly against VIKI.
"Game over, Metigor." She told Jen, knowing that Metigor must be seeing through her eyes. "Let Jen go."
Jen's face snarled. "Game over for you, Blue Ranger."
Aly fired twice, but Jen dodged and charged right at her. Black flashes danced around her head, and before Aly could make out what they were a pair of them flew straight at her — she dodged too late, and gasped in pain when one of them hit her her torso, right were she was wounded the last time.
And then Jen was in front of her, raining down punches and all Aly could do was block. Vaguely she felt the black flashes — dancing knives — cutting her thighs and legs. She gritted her teeth and tried to find an opening —
Suddenly, something slammed into her wounded side and she cried out, the pain so intense that her vision darkened. The next thing she knew, she was pressed up against the panel behind her, Jen's arm bearing down on her windpipe.
"You! I've had enough of you, spoiling my plan again and making me look bad in front of Metigor—"
"No…" Aly croaked, even in her pain she knew this was not right, "Metigor is controlling you-"
"Please," Jen snickered, "I'm his second-in-command. He doesn't tell me when to sit or stand."
Aly looked at Jen's face, twisted in cruelty and distaste. "Why…?"
Jen raised her eyebrow mockingly. "Why? Why don't you ask the Rangers where they were when Metigor put me through hell? Why don't you—"
"Jen!" Ky's voice cut through the fog of pain. Aly knew then that Shawn must be close behind; they had been the closest at the engine room.
Jen let go, and Aly gasped for air. She fumbled behind her for support as the room swayed in front of her. She just managed to lean on the console — her legs were shaking, and she vaguely registered the blade embedded in her side that had pierced through her Ranger armor. She knew she would lose her morph soon, and could only watch helplessly as Ky confronted his sister.
"Jen!" Ky's pained shout did not prepare Shawn for the scene at the bridge. As he rushed into the room behind Ky, he halted just past the door, stunned.
Jen was letting go of Aly, who staggered backwards against the console, leaning heavily on it. A ring of knives danced around Jen's head, one of them breaking formation and twirling around her fingers as she twitched them.
"Hello, brother." Jen said calmly as she turned around to face them, toying with the dancing blade.
Footsteps echoed down the corridors, and Shawn stepped sideways, keeping his blaster trained at Jen. The white and red rangers burst into the bridge a moment later, weapons drawn.
"How?" Ky gasped, asking the questions on all their minds.
"I must say, Metigor taught me very useful things after I pledged my loyalty to him." Jen remarked, waving her fingers as another blade materialized in front of her. She toyed with both knives as smoothly as she did with one.
"Pledged your loyalty?" Xadrin repeated in disbelief.
"Don't look so surprised, cousin dearest," Jen drawled. "A girl's gotta take care of herself. Especially when the people she trusts the most left her for dead. Don't you agree?"
"Jen," Ky stepped forward, "We've never left you—"
"Oh?" Jen cut in, eyebrow raised, "You didn't? Where were you when Metigor put me through hell? Where were you when he killed the only friend I had in front of me?"
"And that is why you are loyal to him?" Xadrin challenged, "That he killed your friend?"
"He promised me power," Jen snapped, "and he gave it to me. I'm his second-in-command, and I have enough sorcery to not rely on anyone else. These are more than any of you could ever give!"
In the silence that followed, everyone was so still that it felt like time had stopped.
Suddenly, Jen shrugged. "Well, I suppose my trap for you isn't going to work now. I will be back for you, Blue Ranger." she called over her shoulder. And just as suddenly, silver sparkles swirled around her, and she disappeared into the teleportation stream a moment later, along with all her dancing knives.
"Jen!" Ky reached out into thin air, his voice anguished.
Only silence remained. For a moment, none of them moved. Then a flash of blue caught his eyes, he turned just in time to see Aly's morph disappear.
"Aly!" Xadrin reached her just in time to stop her from falling, and she was coughing blood when Shawn and the rest got to her.
"Be careful," she rasped, her face grimaced in pain, "of her knives…" she finished, and lifted her bloody left hand from her side. They gasped. A knife was sunk deep in her body — it had pierced right through her Ranger armor.
Aly's body sagged, and Cody came in quickly to hold up her other side.
"VIKI, teleport us to the med bay!" Xadrin ordered, one hand applying pressure on the wound that Aly had let go of.
Nothing happened.
"VIKI – Shawn, turn off the teleportation lockdown," Xadrin snapped, "And turn her voice back on."
Shawn realized before he reached the panel that he had no idea how to, but VIKI herself was eager for it, and prepared the interface to make it easier for him to unlock those. When he did, he turned around to see the three figures disappear into the teleportation stream.
He opened his mouth to request the same for himself, and realized that Ky had not move from his spot. Shawn unmorphed, and went over.
"Ky," He said, gripping the Silver Ranger's shoulder.
Ky's morph disappeared in a silver flash, and his face was already streaked with tears. "It was not supposed to end like this…"
Shawn grimaced, giving the other guy's shoulder a squeeze. He had no words of comfort to give.
It was not supposed to end like this at all.
As Xadrin tucked Aly in, she realized with a start that it was done. Everything that needed to be done immediately was done.
She could finally have a breather – the first one since this morning's hushed preparations, the tense wait at the hanger bay, the shock of the distress signal actually coming through, the even bigger shock at the bridge, and the subsequent rush against time to bring Aly back from the brink of death. She could finally take the time to breathe.
But she couldn't.
Her hands started to shake as she braced it on the side of Aly's bed, and she found it suddenly hard to breathe.
Hands cupped her shoulders gently, and she tensed.
"It's me," Cody said quietly, and she relaxed, "Are you all right?"
Already, traitorous tears have escaped her eyes, and she closed them, wishing that it was that easy to shut out what had happen, that easy to shut out her failures.
Because she failed terribly. She failed to fight harder in the search for Jen and other Santor victims; she failed to realize Metigor's plans were much bigger and more intricate than she could ever imagine; she failed to see beyond what she wanted to see in Jen; she failed to provide the backup that Aly had counted on.
A sob escaped, and she felt Cody turn her around gently, and enveloped her in a fierce hug. He was silent, taking whatever it was she was willing to give. And in his acceptance she found the courage to let go and cry for her lost cousin, for Ky, for Aly, and for herself.
Shawn took one last look at the guest room, and keyed the door shut. He held up the clear bag in front of him, and narrowed his eyes at the piece of tunic within. It was the only personal item that Jen had left behind, after a sweep of all the places she had been had turned up clean. Given that Jen claimed to know sorcery — the existence of which Shawn was still trying to accept — both Cody and himself agreed that it was better for them to dispose of anything that she had left behind. Ky and Xadrin were not yet in a proper state to think about next steps, but some of them had to.
VIKI was of course perfectly capable of clearing out these things by herself with her army of maintenance bots, but Shawn needed to do something besides just sitting and waiting for Aly to wake up. Punching something or someone would be ideal, but given the situation, he was perfectly willing to do some cleaning that required him to move around the ship.
When he passed by the mess hall he lingered by the door, as if hearing the ghost of Jen's laughter and their own. He recalled their short trip to Earth, where Jen had been in awe of almost everything. She had seemed so … normal. So full of life and laughter. He could understand why Ky and Xadrin or anyone else would love her so.
The bag made some crunching sound as he clenched his fists tight, and it reminded him of what he had to do.
"VIKI," he said before he could stop himself. He felt like he needed to talk to someone.
"Yes, Shawn?"
He had to take a few moments to find the words. "Do you think… any of it was real? When Jen was here, was she lying the whole time, or do you think there were moments when she was… genuinely glad to be with us?"
VIKI was silent for a few moments as well, and he looked up in surprise. She always seemed to have the words for everything.
"The little information I have on her profile does not provide enough evidence to be conclusive," VIKI finally replied, "But from her confession on the bridge, it is possible that she still desires kinship."
In other words, VIKI had no idea as well, but she was pointing out the bright side. He shook his head, "Are you trying to make me feel better?"
"You are trying to cope with the situation. I simply provided the information that suggests the situation is not as bleak as it might seem."
In other words, yes. Shawn smiled at the camera by the corner, glad that there were still things that he could relied on to be true.
"Thanks, VIKI."
The banging woke Ky up. He started, looking around his darkened cockpit in confusion. How long had he been asleep? Did it matter?
The banging was persistent. "Come out, Ky!" Xadrin's voice was only slightly muffled, she must have been right outside. "I will climb up there and drag you out if I have to! You know I will!"
He covered his eyes with his hand. He should have at least flown his fighter out of the hanger bay. He was starting to regret it now.
The banging continued.
With a grunt, he slammed the hatch open and stood up, poking his head through the opening. He blinked a little at the startlingly bright lights of the hanger bay, feeling suddenly light-headed.
"Get down here." Xadrin demanded.
It was easier to obey her through the fog of his mind. His body was unusually stiff – he fumbled on the stairs, and completely missed the final step.
Xadrin caught him before he fell. And she began steering him towards the exit even before he could steady himself. He had yet to make sense of his surroundings.
"What — what are you doing?" he asked. Blasted, his throat was so dry.
"Making sure you don't kill yourself." Xadrin said simply. "VIKI said you've been in there since yesterday morning."
Yesterday. Had it been that long? That long since his world was turned completely upside down?
He stopped in his tracks, hard enough that Xadrin could not simply drag him. He had to go back to the fighter. That was the only place, the only thing he understood right now.
"Ky, look at me!" Xadrin repeated, and grabbed his shoulders to force him to look at her. When he finally focused on her eyes, he was startled to see it shine with unshed tears.
"Don't do this to yourself, please." She pleaded, her grip tight on his shoulders, "I've lost one cousin yesterday, I'm not going to lose another."
Lost… that's right. Jen was lost — found again against all odds, and wrenched away in the most unexpected way by the mistakes of his past. This time, Jen had gone willingly – and it was because of that that he knew he had lost her forever. Not even a vow to finish Metigor could soothe this pain.
But Xadrin was hugging him tightly, reminding him that he was not alone. In the corner of his mind was a voice crying out that it was Xadrin and her brother's team who failed to bring Jen back, but the more recent memories of their time on the Ace were stronger. Ky knew with dreadful certainty that it was he himself who had failed Jen. And Xadrin was hurting just as much as he was.
He hugged back, holding on tightly to the only family he had left.
When Cody dropped by the med bay in the afternoon, Shawn was snoozing on a chair beside Aly's bed. He tapped his shoulder while giving Aly a quick glance. It doesn't seem like there was any change.
Shawn opened his eyes, and sat up straight, looking as awake as ever. Cody had never met someone who woke up so fast. He cocked his head at the bed in silent enquiry.
Shawn gave him a small smile. "She woke up once, a few hours ago. I think she was thirsty; went back to sleep right after a drink."
Cody returned his smile, relieved. "Good. That's progress. Do you want—"
Aly stirred, and both of them went closer to for a look. Her face looked troubled, as if she was having a bad dream. Cody exchanged a glance with Shawn, and tried to wake her.
"Aly, wake up," He said, shaking her shoulder gently. "It's Cody and Shawn here. You're safe. It's just a dream."
Her eyes snapped open, wild with panic.
"Aly, it's us," Shawn said firmly, "Calm down. We're here for you."
She seemed to get it as her body relaxed, and she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again with a sigh. "Sorry."
"Whatever for?" Shawn said as he adjusted the bed so that she was not completely lying down. They watched as she took a few deep breaths. Her left hand moved to touch her side, feeling tentatively for the bandages beneath the covers.
"I suppose it's a stupid question to ask how you are feeling?" Shawn said lightly a few moments later.
Aly managed a small smile, which was a good sign in itself. "Like… déjà vu." She said weakly, "Only worse."
Both Cody and Shawn chuckled, perhaps more in relief than anything else. If she could still make a joke, then it might not be as bad as it seemed.
"Do you want to drink something?" Shawn asked, "Once you get something down, VIKI can give you some painkillers."
She nodded without another word, and Shawn went to fetch them.
Aly turned to him, her face serious. "How are Xadrin and Ky doing?"
Cody thought back to yesterday morning when Xadrin broke down in his arms. He remembered her rushing off this morning when VIKI informed them that Ky had stayed in his fighter the whole time after the morning's events. "They're taking it hard, as expected. At least Xadrin was more open about it. Ky just closed himself off."
She closed her eyes, almost in resignation. "I wish I was wrong."
"I think we all do." Cody replied, dragging a chair over from the next bed and sitting down. "But don't worry about that for now, you need to focus on getting better."
Shawn returned with a glass of smoothie and a small shot of liquid painkiller. They watched as Aly sipped the smoothie, not quite knowing what to say. Were there any words that could improve the situation?
"How long was I out?" She asked after she downed the painkiller with barely a grimace.
"About a day," Shawn beat him to it, "it's Friday morning now."
Aly winced, "I wish I don't keep losing time like this. There's so much we need to do…"
"Hey, letting your body heal is important work," Cody said, "And besides, I think we all need some time to deal with Jen's… situation."
She looked at him sharply, and turned a similar gaze on Shawn. "How are you doing?"
Shawn looked to him wordlessly. Cody tried to smile. "Not as bad as you or the others, for sure. But… you weren't there on our field trip the day before yesterday, Aly. You should have seen Jen, she was so…" he looked to Shawn helplessly.
"Normal?" Shawn tried, returning his bitter smile, "Lively? An all-round fun-loving girl who shouldn't have faced something like this?"
Aly's face softened. She reached out with both her hands and took one theirs in each hand, squeezing them gently in a silent offering of support. Cody squeezed back, looking around at the two strangers who had become teammates and friends in such a short period of time. Not for the first time, he marvelled at the split-second decision on that fateful day in the park, at how they were brought together so unexpectedly.
There were no words that could improve the situation, it was true. But they didn't need words. They had each other.
"You need to take it slowly." A female voice said somewhere behind her, too close for comfort. "That will take some time to heal, even for a Ranger."
Aly spun around, meeting a pair of hard green eyes. "This might take a little longer," Jen sneered, pulling a blade out of thin air and stabbing it straight at her heart…
Aly gasped and sat up, feeling a sharp pain shooting through her side. She took in the clinical bright lights of the med bay and forced herself to breathe. It bloody hurt, but the pain came from her side, not her heart.
"You were just having a bad dream, Aly." VIKI's voice rang clearly in her head, planting her firmly in this reality.
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a few tears escaping — from the pain or from the lingering terror from her nightmare, she did not know. She removed her trembling left hand from her wound and braced herself, using her right hand to fumble for the button that would raise the top half of her bed. She was in no hurry to go back to sleep, for sure.
When the bed was raised to its full height, she lowered back down slowly while holding her side, breathing hard. Impatiently, she wiped her cheeks dry. VIKI was not actually a person, but still. It was embarrassing.
"Do you need anything?" VIKI asked, and waited patiently as she took her time.
"I'm fine, VIKI." She finally said, staring straight ahead. She still felt tired, but she refused to consider going back to sleep. "What time is it?"
"It is 10.02pm Crystal Falls time."
She just had to make sure. "I've only slept for a few hours after Cody and Shawn left, right?"
"Affirmative."
She closed her eyes for a moment, relieved. She felt like she had lost so many days. First with Metigor's poison, and now with this. She hated this. She hated waking up and finding that she had lost another day of her life. And no doubt she would be bed-bound for another couple of days, and everyone would tip-toe around her and not let her do anything for the rest of the week…
She grimaced, hating the idea of what her immediate future looked like.
"Would you like something to drink?" VIKI asked again, no doubt monitoring her through the cameras and a dozen of other sensors Aly did not know about.
"I said I'm fine!" She snapped.
VIKI was silent, and Aly bit her lip as she leaned back on the pillow, regret and guilt washing over her. It was not VIKI's fault.
"I'm sorry," Aly said, feeling her vision blur with tears. "I didn't — I wasn't thinking."
A small whine announced the arrival of the mobile desk, with a flask of water on it. A mechanical arm extended from the side of the desk, and it brought the flask to her, pointing the straw near her lips.
Aly supposed she was forgiven. She sipped the water gratefully, and thanked VIKI again when she was done.
As if on cue, the sound of footsteps came from the doorway, and seconds later, Xadrin popped into view, grinning in relief. Aly suspected VIKI had something to do with it.
"Aly!" Xadrin exclaimed with a big grin as she walked over, sitting down unceremoniously on the side of her bed and taking Aly's hands into her own, "I finally get to see you!"
Aly had to smile at her energy. She seemed to be doing better than Aly was expecting. "You see me every day."
"Well, you gave me quite a scare the last time I saw you," she said quietly, her smile faltering a little. Wordlessly, she leaned forward and embraced Aly in a hug. Aly hugged back as tightly as she could, trying to ignore the persistent throbbing on her side.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Xadrin muttered into her hair before slowly pulling back.
Aly kept her hands on the other girl's shoulders, studying her closely. "And you? How are you doing?"
Xadrin made a valiant effort to smile. "I don't know."
Aly's heart went out to her. "Come here."
She pulled Xadrin into a hug this time, and they both held on to each other for a few more moments, words having failed them again. Eventually, the throbbing on Aly's wide grew, and she had to pull back, one hand sneaking to her side.
Xadrin caught it anyway, and pulled back in chagrin. "I'm sorry! I forgot — did it hurt?"
"I'm getting used to it," Aly said as she leaned back onto the bed, "don't worry."
Xadrin was frowning. "You shouldn't be moving around —"
"What else could I be doing?" The words were out before she could stop herself, and she tried to swat away her earlier frustration that was threatening to boil over. Xadrin didn't deserve this.
Xadrin eyed her shrewdly. "Are you all right?"
She looked away, knowing that she couldn't hide it from her. "I'm not looking forward to being stuck here and not being able to do anything for the next few days, that's all."
"Your body needs the rest," Xadrin said gently.
"But I —" she paused, and realized that it was too late to stop, "I've woken up twice now, and both times I dreamed that Jen had finished her job properly." She caught Xadrin's wince out of the corner of her eyes. "I don't — I don't want to go back to sleep," she finished lamely, feeling like a five-year-old.
"Oh, Aly," Xadrin muttered, looking down. "I'm sorry about Jen."
"Don't. You have nothing to do with it."
"But I'm a Ranger," Xadrin protested, "I'm her family. I should have done something. I should have seen something. But I couldn't bring myself to — I really wanted her to be back, you know?"
Aly squeezed Xadrin's hands reassuringly. "I know. I wanted to see the good in her too."
"I can't help thinking that she's right." Xadrin said, "If we had tried harder to find her and the other victims, she and the rest of the victims wouldn't have —"
"You did everything you could, everybody did."
"But she was such a good girl," Xadrin said softly, her voice close to breaking. Aly reached out to hold Xadrin's arm, rubbing up and down softly because she did not know what other comfort she could offer. She continued for a few moments while Xadrin sniffled quietly.
Eventually, Xadrin straightened up, and shot her a grateful smile as she wiped her cheeks. Aly smiled back, but was overcame by a yawn.
Xadrin chuckled. "You know what? I don't want to go back to my room tonight. I'll stay here with you."
Aly blinked at her as she turned around and kicked off her boots. "What?"
Xadrin turned around gracefully, and brought her legs up onto the bed. "Well, move over!"
Hiding a grin, Aly carefully scooted over to one side. Xadrin leaned back onto the bed next to her, and wiggled herself under the covers.
"Lights off, VIKI." Xadrin ordered. The room darkened, with only dim lights on the floor marking the exits.
In the darkness, Aly felt Xadrin's hand closing around hers. "Good night, Aly. I'll be here, don't worry."
"Thanks." Aly muttered, relaxing with a smile. She knew that no nightmare will wake her up this time.
Aly was reading on her bed when Ky halted at the door to the med bay. Even in the unflattering patient gown that she was wearing, she managed to look beautiful. She was still a tad paler than normal, but it was a welcome sight when his last memory of her had been her falling unconscious and bleeding heavily from her wound.
He drank in the sight of her hungrily, lingering over every detail. But all too soon she looked up from her tablet, as if she felt his presence. Her eyes caught his, her face unreadable. She did not ask him to go in, or kick him out.
Taking a deep breath, Ky made his way in, holding her gaze the whole time.
"Hello, Ky," Aly said softly, as he stopped beside her bed.
"Aly." He nodded, his throat tight. Despite thinking about this while on his way here, he still did not know what to say. How do you face someone whom your sister almost killed? How do you face that someone when you still could not bring yourself to blame your sister for the vicious act?
"How are you?" Aly ended up asking, and it was almost too hard to bear.
He shut his eyes tight. "Please. Don't."
Aly was silent for a moment. Ky imagined soaking in her anger, her accusations, and her hatred. He wanted to. He deserved as much.
"Do you still trust me?" She asked.
It echoed something she had asked, a lifetime ago…
"Do you still trust me?" Aly asked again when he did not reply.
"I do, but I also trust my sister!" Ky snapped, feeling cheated, coerced and forced into a corner he could not escape. After so cunningly asking about his trust, Aly had turned around and accused his sister of something so much worse than cheating.
"Then trust me on this," She said firmly, "I am not asking you to betray Jen. I am asking you to give me a chance to prove her innocence. If she passes this test, then there is no more reason to doubt her."
He gritted his teeth. "If she knows that we set up a trap for her—"
"It is not a trap if she doesn't fall for it." Aly said simply. "If she doesn't, then we will just tell her the truth. This is not just about her, Ky. If, by any chance, she could not be trusted, our whole team is in danger. Xadrin would be in danger. Do you really want to take that chance?"
Aly would be in danger, his traitorous heart whispered. Did he really want to take the chance and put Aly in danger?
His heart needed no time to come up with an answer.
Life had such a sense of irony, sometimes. He thought he would be protecting Aly. And yet, he had almost gotten her killed. His own sister had almost killed her, and he still could not bring himself to hate Jen, or even forget about her.
"Do you still trust me, Ky?" Aly repeated.
Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded, not even opening his eyes.
"Then listen to me." She said. "Please don't feel bad about this. Nobody wanted this to happen. And killing yourself over this…" She trailed off, and he almost thought she would not continue.
"…It kills me to." She finished in a whisper.
Startled, he opened his eyes, and saw her looking away. Almost unconsciously, he moved forward and sat down carefully on the side of her bed. He sought her eyes, and when she would not turn around he tentatively took her hands into his own.
He rubbed small circles over the back of her hands, hesitated, and kissed them softly.
Aly's startled eyes met his.
"It kills me to know that Jen did this to you." He said, feeling that he could no longer hide his words, "It haunts me to know that I still want her back."
Aly pulled back her hand, and his heart sank.
"It's… understandable." She finally said, in a manner that conveyed clearly that she did not like what she said. "You don't stop being family overnight. I don't expect you to."
"I'm sorry—"
"No." Aly said immediately, as if she was prepared for this, "People keep telling me that. But it's not your fault, or even Jen's. It's Metigor. Don't take any blame from him."
Ky shut up. None of them said anything for a few moments too long. It was a kind of silence that was a far cry from the comfortable silence they enjoyed, that night at the observatory, far too long ago.
When Aly finally spoke, he was both relieved that she did, and terrified of what she would say.
"We… agreed, to find each other again after all this is over." She said, and he felt his heart hung on to every word, "Is there… is there still an 'after'?"
"Why…" he said slowly, trying to wrap his head around the idea what Aly might be giving up before they had even begun, "Why won't there be?"
Aly stared at him for a long moment, her gaze piercingly sad. "Because I am scared of your sister. I dreamed – I keep dreaming, of her killing me. But I know you must want her back, somehow. And I –" She looked away, "I can't share your dream with you, not anymore."
He felt like he fell off a cliff.
It was true. He still wanted to get Jen back, no matter how small the chance might be. He had initially thought that Jen was lost forever, but the very fact that she was still alive must mean something; it must mean that there was still a chance that she could become good again.
He swallowed. "You don't have to."
"Do you think that will ever work?" She asked bitterly, "You'll be trying to get her back alone. And I'll be scared of her on my own, hoping that you won't — that you won't get her back. There is no way to stay together when we will both be alone."
He stared at her, stunned by the picture that she had painted for them both.
"To hell with 'after'," he said through gritted teeth, frustrated that they were going nowhere, "'After' will never come, Aly. There is only right now. I was wrong. I was wrong to promise you 'after' – I want you now. And I want to be with you now."
He reached out, and caressed her cheek with one hand, feeling bolder when she let him. "I want to be with you now." He whispered.
She closed her eyes, but leaned into his touch, so lightly that he might have been imagining it. "It doesn't change what I said, Ky. Our paths will diverge."
"We walk our own paths, Aly." He said solemnly, feeling her freeze at his words, "We make them. Let me help you fight your fears. But let me tell you about the Jen I know. We'll never know what's going to happen. But we need to believe we can make things happen."
"We need to take a leap of faith." Aly suddenly whispered, looking as if she was surprised by what she said. "Someone once told me that. He said, 'We will never have the full set of information. You have to be prepared to take a leap of faith'."
He ventured a small smile, feeling hopeful. "Did you take the leap?"
She nodded.
He couldn't resist. "How did that work out?"
She looked up at him, light humor in her eyes, "Painfully. But," She closed her hand around his, "I won't change a thing about it."
He had a feeling that it had something to do with the two of them. "You have to tell me that story some time."
She leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek. "It is still being written."
A/N: And... we have reached the end of the first arc, and the end of my NaNoWriMo project. Do you want the story to continue? I may need some time before I get a huge chunk out like this, but if I know there are people waiting then that's more motivation :) Let me know!